


Between Times

by Lyrishadow



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:09:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29649054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyrishadow/pseuds/Lyrishadow
Summary: A nav point on a planet with a lot of fog and rock and not much else. Shepard takes Kaidan and Garrus with them to explore and stretch their legs. What starts as a simple collection of supplies, turns into a semi-epic adventure caught between two different worlds.Are two Shepard's better than one?
Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Female Shepard, Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard
Kudos: 1





	Between Times

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crqstalite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crqstalite/gifts).



> This is a stand-alone story written for the awesome and talented crqstalite. 
> 
> Happy birthday!! You are such a delightful person to know,   
> I hope you have a fantastic day!

The nav point was meant to be a hidden stash, though Egan Shepard wasn't sure if it was a trap or not, either way, they needed to get the promised supplies. Kaidan and Garrus came with him, keen to stretch their legs since there had been so much diplomacy lately and not so much fighting.  
"Shepard, are you sure about this nav point?" Garrus asked as their shuttle touched down on a foggy, rocky planet that offered more mystery than immediate supplies.  
"No." Egan sighed "This isn't what I thought we would find either."  
"Hm, easy place for an ambush, let's keep our guard up," Kaidan said, pointing to the narrow road between two rock faces.  
"Alright, watch my back, I will go first." Egan stepped into the narrow ravine expecting trouble, when nothing happened he was almost disappointed. "All safe and clear."   
He felt Kaidan move in behind him, the sense of primed biotics tickling the hair on his neck. Egan led them further along into the jungle that grew up.  
In the end, nothing eventful happened at all and they decided to camp  
"I will get the first watch, "Garrus stated, not even asking as Egan sat down strangely tired and glanced at Kaidan who was watching him concerned.  
"You look...exhausted."  
"Yeh...war..remember?"  
"Something else. Something's off, can't quite put my finger on it."  
"Relax Kaid, I'm okay." Egan checked where Garrus was and added "Come here."  
"Egan…" Kaidan objected though he still came and sat down next to his boyfriend.  
Egan leaned his head against Kaidan's shoulder "I’m fine, just tired, let’s get some rest."  
"Alright." Kaidan sighed "I hope you are right. I care about you, Egan."  
Egan nodded his eyes already closed as sleep claimed him.

"Wake up." A strange almost pompous voice said, "damn it, you appeared here so wake up.."  
Egan slowly opened his eyes. He was in a dark forest and the person who woke him was frowning at him as he sat up.  
"Where am I? Where are Garrus and Kaidan?"  
"At a guess, this is a dream." The woman ran her hand through her dark hair, she was peering at him. “Because I have the same questions.”  
"A dream, where we can talk and.." Egan gestured getting up from the ground. He would be having words with the person who gave them the info for the nav point.  
"It's a bit more complicated." the other person agreed.  
"It always is. Who are you?"  
"Commander Kodelyn Shepard." She stated, waiting for him to respond." you?"  
"Egan Shepard." He frowned "Commander Egan Shepard."  
"Well, that's just great." Kodelyn threw her hands up " stuck with another version of myself."  
"Call me Egan, and what do you mean?"  
"Kodee, You and I are from different universes. You are fighting the reapers?"   
"Yes." Egan nodded eyeing the woman strangely "and you?"  
"Yeah, we got a nav point for a supply depot…"  
"I see, that same thing happened to us.”  
"Kaidan?"  
"My boyfriend Kaidan…" Egan replied to her eyes widening in shock.  
"What?"  
"He's mine as well...ok how long have you known him?"  
"Since we were young. I was 15." Egan replied quietly "he’s the best thing in my life, so how do we solve this puzzle and get back?"  
"Well, that’s the thing, I only arrived a few minutes before you.”  
“Are we expecting anyone else?”  
“I wasn’t expecting anyone.” she pointed out “Then you appeared so I poked you awake.”  
“Okay.” The forest they were in was still the same hazy fog that was over the entire landing point on the planet “We are still on that planet.”  
“Ok,” she looked skeptical.  
“It’s the same damn fog.” Egan pointed out, Kodee nodded, moving to pick up a stick.  
“What weapons do you... Ah, I see…” Egan checked for his gun just as she asked the question and swore under his breath. “You don’t have one either. Here.”   
Armed with sticks, which seemed pretty low tech they started to move forward.  
“Stop,” Egan said, frowning, he could hear something just ahead of them. Looking at each other they nodded and dropped to the ground before moving forward slowly again.   
In front of them was a camp, in the middle of which was the supplies they had been promised.  
“This is ridiculous. If this is a dream, those are our supplies. I am not sure how they correspond to reality.”  
“Maybe this is a map,” Egan replied.  
“You are calm,” Kodee answered   
“Focused, calm is only the outward sign of focus.” Egan replied, “life on the streets teaches a lot of things that are useful as an N7 at least.”  
“Space raised here.” she laughed “We are different that’s nice.”  
“And useful,” Egan replied, glancing at her.  
“See that guard?” he gestured to a guard that was further away from the compound, “Let’s get him away from the place and have a chat. Maybe he will know more?”  
“How?”  
“You never flirt to get a man away from somewhere?”  
“It’s not in the infiltration rule book for an N7.” she replied, “have you?”  
“Actually... Yes.”  
“Did it work?”  
“Yes.” Egan grinned “But it has to be a specific type of guy.”  
“Ok, I will talk him into coming over to where you are. How are we going to hold him?”  
“Easy.” Egan flared with the blue of his biotics.  
“You are biotic.” Kodee observed, “I hadn’t noticed.   
“Yes.”Egan raised an eyebrow at her “You have an amp too?”  
“I… Cerberus when they rebuilt me… decided it was a good plan to..”  
“Ah.” Egan sighed “you got enhanced by Miranda then. It would take a lot to get used to I am sure.”  
“You have been since…”  
“Since I was young. It was part of how I worked for my boss in the gangs, how I met Kaidan, none of this is important.” Egan sighed “We can talk after we know what’s going on.”  
“OK.” Kodee still didn’t sound convinced, but at least she knew that they could use their biotics in whatever this place was.   
Egan waited by the tree line while Kodee sidled up to the guard, Egan was ready to fight in case there was a problem or the guard called for help, but the guard seemed enamored with Kodee and readily agreed to follow her. As soon as he was out of the line of sight of the base, Egan began to follow behind, freezing him in place with his biotics.  
“Hello there,” Egan said as he walked around to the front of the man, now frozen in place.  
“What?” the man’s eyes darted to Egan, and back to Kodee “This was a trap!”  
“Don’t make me ever do that again.” Kodee screwed up her face in disgust “Anyhow here you can talk to him.”  
“We want to know what is going on.”  
“Shepard!” the man gasped, then glanced at Kodee “and another… Shepard?”  
“Yeah.” Kodee replied “Good guess.”  
“We were meant to be safe from you in the slip….”  
“Slip?”  
“Ah… time slip?” the man sighed “My boss is going to kill me.”  
“Then you might as well tell us everything.” Egan replied calmly “Or we can kill you?”  
“But!”  
“He’s right, if we just let you go, you run back to your boss and squeal.”  
“Not likely. He really would kill me, this time slip stuff - it was a part of a project by Cerberus, that they abandoned and we found.”  
“Why does that not surprise me?” Kodee replied with her hand going to her head.  
“How did we get pulled into this?”  
“Who told you we were on this planet?”  
“Anonymous tip for a supply cache, you are aware we are fighting the Reapers…?”  
“No.… they don’t exist in the slips; conventional time does not exist either..” The man looked down, “the boss promised us that we would be able to save our families this way.”  
“Someone lied to you. The Reapers are already on earth.”  
“What?”  
“They have already decimated the cities… how long do you think it will take for them to get the entire galaxy?”  
“I don’t…”  
“We need to get back to our respective locations.” Egan said, “How do we leave?”  
“You aren’t meant to be here…” the man replied agonized “but there is a device the boss uses in the main facility.”  
“If we can get out of here, your family has a chance.”  
“I know.” the man replied looking at Kodee “the Shepherd that is in my galaxy isn’t one of you but… I know.”  
“You are saying…”  
“The time slip pulled you from another dimension, a black hole? A something but the boss’ device should take you back.” the man sighed “Free me please, I can give you my gun.”  
Egan released him from the stasis, the man reached for the gun and handed it over to Kodee. “You might need it.”  
“Right.”  
“Use the device to get home, then… destroy it. It will put everything in this slip back where it belongs... But you need to hurry.” 

Kodee and Egan headed off to the main compound and simply walking in there was not going to work. So they paused as they reached the perimeter.  
“So how do we play this when we get back?”  
“A bad dream?” Egan replied, attempting to joke.  
“Yeah, meeting you was not that bad.” Kodee checked the gun that the guard had given her “Though the news that Cerberus was working on this is not good.”  
“No, not really.” Egan agreed. “I don’t imagine anyone other than Kaid would believe this. I believe Kaid would say ‘With all the crap you have seen over the last few years Egan, I am not surprised in the least “  
“Kaid? He lets you call him that?”  
“Yeah, why?”  
“Cute… I wonder if I could get away with it?” Kodee grinned, “Nice to think that there are more Kaidan’s in the universe, Garrus too.”  
“Sad to think there are more reapers, still let’s finish with this so we can kick their butt and get on with living,” Egan replied, his tone determined as Kodee nodded.  
“One thing.” Kodee reached into her pocket and she pulled out a pen and paper.  
“Paper?” Egan asked, surprised to see the real thing.  
“I try and keep the real deal on me at all times, for writing things down.” Kodee handed it to him “Can I have your autograph?”  
“Sure?” Egan signed his autograph and added a note to the effect of nice to meet you.   
Kodee grinned, tore a page, and did the same handing it to Egan.  
“Now when we think we dreamed this whole thing, we can at least prove to ourselves we didn’t. “  
“Good point.”  
“Look a gap in the guards.” Kodee pointed and they moved forward again.  
The fight to get to the main building was not as much a struggle as it looked, the guards kept a rotating system where they walked the perimeter but seldom stood directly by the building, allowing Egan and Kodee a chance to get inside.  
Inside was a different story. They took cover behind crates.  
"Remember Dantius towers?" Egan glanced at Kodee questioningly  
"Yeah?"  
"Same deal: mercs, overhead cannons, biotic Asari."  
"Damn I was hoping for Thane and that Volus guy."  
"Sorry, you lucked out and got me.” Egan deadpanned making Kodee snort in reply.  
“Grenades are good.” Kodee gestured to the crates they were taking shelter behind.  
“If you can find them, be my guest. I have other means.” Egan began to glow. Kodee watched Egan as he moved into the fight, she knew he was biotic, but he was a lot more flamboyant about it than Kaidan was, and it was a new sight for her to behold, and the edges of his field were different to sense, nothing at all like Kaidan or Liara.  
The first set of troops had no idea what was happening before they could call for help, Egan had them helplessly flailing in the air then closing his eyes he turned back to Kodee and let them fall. Gravity took care of the rest.  
He grabbed the weapons and ammo off their bodies and handed them to Kodee.  
“More your style I think.” He shrugged, the weapon was an M5 Phalanx; one of the better guns available to use on the market, she whistled as she looked it over and nodded. Egan pocketed a simple Carnifex from the other body. Then grinned as he handed over the man's ammo pouch “He has grenades.”  
“Do either of them have a visor?” Kodee leaned over to look at the bodies. “That’s odd.”  
“What is that?”  
“Could have sworn I have seen these idiots before.”  
“Huh, maybe? Not that it matters at this point.”  
“Let’s get one alive.” Kodee suggested, “I want to see if our friend outside was telling us the truth.”  
“You think he was …”  
“Misinformed.” She said grimly “At best.”  
“Alright.”  
In the very next fight, Egan managed to isolate one of the mercs and trap him in a stasis field, which, judging by all the language he used, he was not amused by.  
“If you relax,” Egan said with a raised eyebrow “I am told it isn’t a bad experience.”  
“What would… wait... Who are you?”  
“Now that, my friend, is a good question when someone has you trapped,” Egan replied, glancing at Kodee who shrugged. “Name is Egan Shepard, Commander Egan Shepard, and I would dearly like to get back to doing what I was trying to do before I got sucked into your little corner here.”  
“Shit.” the man turned a strange shade of pink “boss is… not gonna be happy..”  
“Who exactly is your boss…?”  
“Illusive man…” Kodee muttered pointing at a logo stamped on the man’s armor, in a hidden corner.  
“Well now. Why hide your allegiances?”  
“You… he’s looking for ways to get away you know? To… save... People…” if the man went pink before he went pale when Kodee stepped up to him.  
“I call that… bullshit.” she bit at him “There is nothing here but crates.”  
“I…”  
“He made promises to save your family? That's how you got involved?” Egan asked  
“Yes.”  
“Your family on earth?”  
“I… yes?”  
“Earth was attacked by the reapers.” Egan shook his head. “Like most things, it was a nice idea at the time, but the actual execution didn’t go to plan.”  
“He’s trying to meet himself.”  
“Now that is something we can all agree should not happen.” Egan sighed “We want to destroy this pocket universe and the control that let you in.”  
“The professor… he won’t let you take it.”  
“Professor?”  
“Salarian.” the man sneered “No idea why they let him in.”  
“I figured he was Salarian.” Egan sighed “Well now, what do we do with you?”  
“You destroy this pocket, things go back to where they belong. I don’t want to harm you... Honest.”  
“I’d suggest you work for your Shepard’s causes then and give Cerberus a wide berth.” Kodee muttered, “It is better for your health trust me.”  
In the end, they found a storeroom and tied the man up, locking the door behind them as they left. If the information was right, the guy was going to end up back where he was meant to be anyhow and none of this would matter.

“So let’s see, Salarian Professor must be there.” Egan pointed to a building beyond the one they were walking through, they could see was accessed via a courtyard across a bridge.  
“Always with the damn bridges!” Kodee shook her head “At least it isn’t 100 floors in the air I suppose.”  
“Still exposed.” Egan and Kodee were still busy fighting their way through the outer area, as they talked about how to cross the open bridge to the entrance of what looked to be the lab.  
“There are some crates scattered there.”  
“Yeah just like someone knew we would need them.” Egan deadpanned as he used his biotics again, at least Kodee had gotten used to him using them.  
“How does Kaidan put up with your humor?”  
“He is very tolerant.” Egan replied, “He also talks in his sleep, and I have a lot of fuel for blackmail.”   
“That’s not…” Kodee laughed “Really?”  
“No, he’s always been a better man than I, but it is part of why I love him.” Egan replied, “Though he does talk in his sleep.”  
“Yeah. Mine does too.” She huffed “We better get back to them.”  
“Yes, we had. I won’t hear the end of it if I die or some crap again.”  
They had reached the outside door, with just the guards on the bridge to deal with, they were about to find whatever truth was over the other side.  
“Can’t be worse than a clone.” Kodee breathed.  
“A what?” Egan’s eyebrow shot up as he turned to face her “That’s not something we share in common…”  
“Have you taken shore leave yet?” Kodee asked genuinely curious now how these timelines worked.  
“No. We are headed for the citadel after this outing actually - need to refit and resupply.”  
“Oh. I see.”  
“So clone huh?” Egan asked “That’s a bit rough…”  
“We owe so much to Cerberus,” Kodee muttered.  
“Yeah, from Thresher Maw’s to waking up dead, I guess I owe them a lot.” Egan gave up trying to lighten the mood, he was just mad that in the end, this had traced right back to Cerberus, when they had tried to end as much of the rubbish experiments as they could.  
“Sorry what?”  
“You must have heard of Akuze?” Egan sighed running his hand through his hair “that was a Cerberus experiment.”  
“On our men?”  
“Kodee, in my version of reality, I was the LT for that drop,” Egan revealed quietly. “It never left me; I never forgot what they did - I worked with them because it was needed, but then this kind of thing? Messing with time and space and…”   
“Yeah. I do remember that they were behind the situation with Admiral Kohaku and his men.” Kodee replied, “It gets morose doesn’t it when you consider the body count?”  
“Yeah, it does.” Egan agreed “And it will get higher if we end up stuck here so let’s go.”

They made it outside, the air was stale like it had been kept in a box for a bit longer than necessary; Egan coughed, this was not going to help either of them.   
“Get down,” Kodee yelled pushing Egan down as a rocket sailed over their heads.  
“Thanks.”  
“Mech.” she replied pointing “it’s an older model too.”  
“Ok on me, let me take down the armor, you shoot the thing.” Egan ran from behind the barricade and threw a warp to strip the armor down so Kodee could get some good shots in and take out the mech.   
“So why don’t you use your biotics?” They were catching their breath, Egan feeling his pockets for an energy bar he always kept on him.  
“I don’t know. They aren’t natural to me? Like you have had yours since you were a kid right?”  
“Yeah. The ripe old age of fifteen. Came in handy a few times then; was a crap thing trying to get an amp fitted though. I don’t know what strings my boss pulled but…” Egan shook his head and shrugged.  
“Kind of like Kaidan then.” she mused “I don’t know I just… it’s so new?”  
“I can understand that.” Egan replied, “I met Kaid just after BaAt.”  
“Oh my god…” Kodee looked at him surprised “I wasn’t sure he would even remember any of the days after that, I mean it was so highly…”  
“Emotional?” Egan asked to which Kodee nodded “Yeah it was, and he was walking through my neighborhood when people from my gang had him in a corner - so I saved him.”  
“The short version.” She replied. “I met Kaidan on the SR1.”  
“Ah, that does make sense.” Egan nodded, “Amazing how that one man can change our lives; you got your breath back?”  
“Yeah, I am good.” Kodee nodded glancing at the other Shepard as he stuffed his wrapper in his glove. “I always thought you guys had a compartment for those.”  
“Ah. No.” Egan looked a little sheepish as he added “I usually hand off the wrapper to Kaidan.”  
“That is lazy.”  
“He has pockets in his new armor... “  
“Does he?”  
“I uh… he might have so I stop losing everything?” Egan chuckled “He’s a damn good XO, and I am thrilled I have him on my ship.”  
“Yeah.” Kodee nodded “I miss him.”  
“Me too.”Egan sighed   
“Let’s move then.” Kodee gestured “The longer we spend here the worse it is for us.”  
“Ok, so the bridge, dodge and roll I guess.”  
“Yeah, at least you are not Garrus.”  
“Can’t duck or dodge so well in your universe either huh?”  
They made it to the bridge and Egan took a deep breath as he pulled on his abilities.  
“This is going to hurt like a … “ he muttered as he pulled an enemy into the air and threw them.  
“Nice now…” Kodee had been watching Eagan’s biotics grow weaker as he was wearing himself out, “Let me.”  
“You sure?” Egan asked “I don’t want you doing things you don’t want to do. No point if it’s just because…”  
“I have them, may as well make use of them when the situation calls for it.” Egan watched as Kodee dived in, lighting up the place like she was made for the job. Which, he thought to himself, she was after all. He found it so hard to believe that Cerberus had thought that was okay to do. Then again they had thought this was fine too.  
They had finally arrived at the door to the lab, unsure of what was inside Egan found himself switching to what he called Commander Shepard mode, grimly focused on the end goal he forgot for a moment that Kodee was not one of his squad.  
"Egan Shepard, slow down!" Kodee ran to catch up "Commander mode huh."  
He stopped at the inner door and glanced at Kodee "Sorry."   
"No I get it, it's how you survive N7, how ….we… survived." She stilled " how the hell are we going to survive this one?"  
"Worried?"  
"A little. This whole situation is so far-fetched, and I am bothered by who sent the intel in the first place? Did you get told about it or…"  
"No just the nav point and the hint for resources." He paused" think it was a trap?"  
"Not intentionality. " she replied "So if one Shepard is good for fighting something…”  
“You think someone needs help?”Egan surmised  
“Bingo.” Kodee gestured to the door of the lab, it held a biometric lock. “I bet if we scan this it is set to a high-ranking Cerberus official.”  
Kodee lifted her omni tool and scanned, grunting as the results came in.  
“Does the name Peel mean anything to you?”  
“Peel?” Egan tried to think “There was a Harrison Peel who dropped in the N3 stage..,. Oh.”  
“Yeah him.” she began to punch up something on her tool, Egan kept watching.   
“Harrison was a jerk and tried to cheat the system. N3 isn't the best for a human-centric marine.” Kodee added, “Given we are taught medical care on aliens.”  
“Shit, I should have known.” A deep voice echoed through the room just as Kodee got the first lock undone.  
“Freaking Shepard; and….” he stared at Kodee, his draw dropping. “Shit.”  
“Yeah, it’s not a good day.” Egan replied, “So you come from my Universe huh?”  
“Yeah, did not expect the mighty Egan Shepard to be here. Don’t you have a Reaper to kill someplace or a Krogan to kiss?”  
“Wrex said he would wait for me,” Egan replied smugly  
“It isn’t going to get any better is it?” the other man asked vehemently “Humans will always be last and useless people like you will always rise to the top.. Spectre. “  
“Humanity needs to work with other races instead of against them.” Kodee looked up at Harrison who was impatiently rubbing his hands.  
“I am allowed to kill the mighty Shepard, my boss seems to think you are the only one who stands between him and the Reapers.”  
“He is mostly correct but not in the way he thinks he is.” Egan sighed, the Illusive man was getting to be more the pain in the neck man and if this latest course of experiments was anything to go by - it was evident he was going to be so much more trouble.   
“Ah, but you want to get back to your boyfriend.” Harrison sneered “He put you on a ship, gave you all the money in the world, AND Miranda… and you took… what nothing?”  
“Yeah, I am singularly focused here, fix the galaxy, live a peaceful life,” Egan replied shaking his head at the insanity starting to show around the edges of the man. If he knew Miranda, he knew well enough that nobody could give or take that woman anyhow.  
“And you.”  
“Commander Kodelynn Shepard” she replied, narrowing her eyes “I know who you are.”  
“Except in your universe I am probably still working for the Alliance.” he said with great distaste “as a librarian.”  
“That.” Kodee shook her head, giggling. “Sorry, but you don’t strike me as…”  
“I have you know I have a degree in library science!”  
“Of all things…” Egan muttered, “let’s just fight him so my head can return to not hurting.”  
“Right, there.” Kodee smiled at Egan, the door open.  
“You can’t just walk away.” Harrison Peel made a poor excuse for a project leader, if anything the illusive man must have imagined no-one would find this one.   
“Right. Forgot about you for a moment.” Kodee smiled at Egan.  
“Argh, there is no reasoning with Shepard!”Harrison lifted his gun, Kodee lifted her biotics and stripped half of his extra shielding in one hit as the two Shepards rolled out of the line of fire.   
“Isn’t he a peach?” Egan asked  
“Charming. Take it you had to work with him at some point.”  
“Explains the personal touch, yes? Also seems to have stalked me a bit.” Egan sighed “hopefully not too much because I would rather not have anyone else hurt.”  
“Oh hey, Egan Shepard” Harrison yelled tauntingly “I also know your background…”  
“This will be good” Egan muttered.  
“You were in the Tenth St Reds, in Vancouver!”  
“So what?”Egan replied angling around so he could throw a grenade or shoot at Harrison’s legs.  
Harrison on the other hand was ready for that and fired off a shot directly into Egan’s left shoulder.  
“Shit,” Egan muttered,   
“He hit you?” Kodee asked annoyed at the man who was keeping them pinned down slightly. “No-one gets away with hitting my… friends!”  
“Kodee… wait…” Egan sighed and moved, managed to find a spot to help from and the next five minutes gave them a fight of a lifetime. Especially injured, Egan managed to try and keep quiet about it. It would have to be dealt with later. First, they needed to make sure later happened.  
Finally, Harrison died, Egan felt a little sad for the man, because he had been a perfectly normal human once.  
“I wonder what turns them to Cerberus?” Kodee asked, rummaging through the man's pockets and coming up with a few meal replacement bars which she gave to Egan. Who chose one and handed the other one back with a pointed look.  
“You have to look after yourself too, you know.”  
“Oh.” Kodee shrugged “I go back to not using my biotics and..”  
“But you did use them. To protect me and I appreciate it.” Egan smiled “Besides, not every day I get the general idea of what having a sister might have been like.”  
“I am… a little sad to part ways.” Kodee admitted opening the bar and eating it slowly “It’s nice having you as a friend Egan, though for heaven's sake your humor could use some work.”  
“Thanks!” Egan grinned, eating through his bar “Appreciate it.”  
After eating Egan took the wrappers and stuffed them in his pocket. He would talk to Kaidan about that stuff, he promised himself.  
“So last door…” Kodee nodded “Shall we?”  
They swung the door open and behind it a small room with one Salerian pacing in it.  
“Oh thank god!” the Salerian said as they entered.  
“Ah, someone who worked for the STG,...” Kodee muttered.  
“What? Yes. No.” The Salerian sighed “They put... Things in my head, I am done. This device will get you back… then… destroy it, and every record you ever find of this project.”   
“No way. We save you.”  
“You don’t understand. The Illusive Man has been studying reaper technology and how to use it to control aliens and humans alike. He hired me to work on a project side room - this pocket of time - but in secret, he also experimented with my brain and added electrodes, look it doesn't matter anymore. I would be a threat to everything. Take this device.  
Wait, why are there two of you?”  
“Kodelynn Shepard.”  
“Egan Shepard.”  
“Oh!” The Salerian stopped his pacing. Looking at Egan in particular.  
“Oh?”  
“Well clearly one of you does not belong here, but this keeps happening... Has happened before will... Happen I suppose again.” he paused again “No not if you destroy the device won’t happen.”  
“Do you know Mordin Solus?” Kodee asked, scowling at the man who nodded.   
“Mordin is a good friend. Was a good friend, likely gone? I…. the illusive man took my information by force… I am sorry…” The Salarian sat down suddenly “I have doomed my entire race.”  
“No, we were able to fight Cerberus off.”  
“Thank you.”  
“Take a device, travel together. Go Egan’s first, then Kodelynn takes the device and destroys it. You, Kodelynn, are the anomaly and I don’t think the Illusive man will look for you.”   
“I am the anomaly?”  
“Yes. You are not meant to be here.”  
“Are there actual supplies on this planet?”  
“What? Oh yes yes, right in the middle of the equator, here nav point.” the Salerian sighted “Now go.” As they turned around the Salerian smiled, he had fixed his mess.

They took the device and both held it skeptical at first until they arrived back at Egan’s camp.  
“Egan!” Kaidan ran across the clearing, and hugged his commanding officer tight, “Good gravy, I woke up and you were gone, you have been gone for three days… what happened… who?”  
“I… am Kodelynn,” Kodee said quietly startled by the same but different Kaidan, he was smiling at her and shaking her hand but there was no hint of recognition there.  
“It’s a long-ass story that’s for sure,” Egan replied wearily. “I need the first aid kit, can I sit down?”  
“You’re injured?” Kaidan asked, giving Egan a critical eye.  
“A little.”Egan sighed.   
“Kodelynn, eat a proper meal before you go?” Kaidan asked.  
“I should get…”  
“They won’t notice and you need to eat, those bars only work so well.” Egan reminded her.  
“Bars?” Kaidan frowned “Egan those make you sick usually.”  
“Yeah. I know.” Egan shrugged “I had one of my own and a borrowed one.”  
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Kodee demanded, her tone was that of a friend who was worried and not a stranger, and that made Kaidan raise an eyebrow at Egan who shook his head slightly.   
“Take off the armor please.”  
“Should we be looking away?” Garrus sauntered over “Commander.”  
“Hi, Garrus.” Egan and Kodee said at the same time, then froze.  
“Um, I don’t know who you are Miss, but thanks hi.”  
“Egan, how did you get shot?” Kaidan fussed as he cleaned the wound.  
“Because a dumbass convinced him to stick his head around the corner to talk,” Kodee replied to which Eagan snorted.  
“Alright, story. Short version so we don’t imagine anything.” Garrus demanded.  
“You understand the concept of parallel universes?” Egan asked  
“Sure. Never been proven but there are enough ideas out there.” Garrus replied.  
“My name is Commander Kodelynn Shepard.” Kodee stated, “I am Commander of the Normandy SR2, my XO is Kaidan Alenko, with whom I have a relationship, and one of my most trusted friends is Garrus Vakarrian.”  
“Holy… seriously... The weirdest stuff happens to you, Egan!” Kaidan stated “So glad I don’t have to meet me!”  
“I did say he would say that.” Egan pointed out to Kodee who nodded laughing.  
“So you get it now? What we have seen, what has been done here - can’t leave this place.”  
“Because some idiot would likely try to do this all over again.”  
“Correct Garrus and I wish it wasn’t true. It was nice having someone who was like a sister.” Egan smiled at Kodee over the food that Kaidan had finally prepared.   
“I get it now, the differences between our universes are small but noticeable. Maybe that is how I became the anomaly, we are very similar but very different at the same time.”  
“True.” Egan sighed “It is time to go through, and you need to destroy that thing.”  
“Oh, it will be gone.”  
“Get the other me to help.” Garrus suggested, “Turians are surprisingly destructive when asked to be so.”  
“I can always hold it still with biotics while he destroys it,” Kaidan suggested.  
“You boys are helpful.” Kodee laughed “Kaidan, you are different here, much more open about the biotics, much freer… hang on to that, to Egan, he’s why you are so different.”  
“I.. yeah he is. I owe him a lot. Am I allowed to hug you?” Kaidan asked, surprising her again.  
“Yes.” She was hugged by all of them, and finally waved and walked a little out of the camp.  
“Time to go Kodee.”   
The device shuddered and a voice called her name.  
“Kodee!” Kaidan came running towards her concern etched on his face “You are ok. Oh my god, don’t disappear like that again, it has been four days!”  
“Is Garrus still with you?”  
“Yes, why?”  
“Boy, have I got a story to tell you!” she replied hugging him and taking his hand “Let’s get Garrus so I only have to say it once.”


End file.
